The history of candy dates back to ancient peoples who must have snacked on sweet honey straight from bee hives. The first candy confections were fruits and nuts rolled in honey. The manufacturing of sugar began during the middle ages and at that time sugar was so expensive that only the rich could afford candy made from sugar. Cacao, from which chocolate is made, was re-discovered in 1519 by Spanish explorers in Mexico.
The price of manufacturing sugar was much lower by the seventeenth century when hard candy became popular. By the mid-1800s, there were over four hundred factories in the United States producing candy.